You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away.
— Job 11:16

Many of us have painful memories we carry with us like pictures in a wallet. We keep these memories alive through feelings generated by those moments. Why are we so attached to unpleasant memories?

It’s difficult to let go of memories, no matter how unpleasant. Sometimes they’re a reminder of the past, but more often we clutch them because we’re afraid to feel pleasant feelings today. Because the program is working in our lives, we have fewer painful times now. That may not be comfortable, so we invent new pain or dredge up the sludge of the past. As ugly as it may be, it’s still familiar.

We don’t have to look back. We don’t have to feel misery or pain because it’s familiar. We don’t have to drag out that wallet and look at the images of unhappy times again. We can leave those spaces in our wallets empty, ready to be filled with new moments to remember.

I can try to make some new moments to remember. I don’t need to look back anymore.